Future of NDIS in the Clarence Valley

FIVE years ago, Social Future's office in Grafton had just one staff member. Now they've grown to 22, and with their new office officially opening yesterday, CEO Tony Davies said they'll be here to help the Clarence Valley community for a long time to come.

Social Futures now delivers local area co-ordination for the NDIS, and Mr Davies said he was excited for the future of the service in the region.

"Today is an important milestone for us," he said.

"The Northern Rivers Social Development Council has been working in the Northern Rivers since the early 1970s to promote community develop. We're committed to the community and we've grown a lot and got a real commitment to people across the region. By having an office in Grafton with 22 staff here it's really demonstrating our commitment and also ensures we have local people on the ground and working with the many services we provide."

Mr Davies said yesterday was a proud day for Social Futures.

"We've been delivering programs in the Clarence Valley since 1996, and we've been lucky to grow our deliver and our commitment to the region with our other programs," he said.

"Five years ago we had one worker based in Grafton, and the chair of our board has been from Grafton and they've always asked us to commit more resources and that's what we've done. We've built up our presence and we're here to stay. We're based in the community, we're not a branch of a city based organisation. We're based in the Northern Rivers and we'll be here for a long time yet.

"I really want to pay tribute to the incredible work of staff who have pulled this together, they've done a fantastic job."